Sparc Group, the parent company of Forever 21 and Aéropostale, announced it merged with JCPenney to create a new company called Catalyst Brands.

Catalyst Brands has its headquarters within JCPenney’s corporate headquarters in Plano, TX. It also has offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle. JCPenney has 50,000 employees, with over 650 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. In 2022, the retailer celebrated its 120th Anniversary.

The department store chain said that the all-equity merger brings its banner and various exclusive private brands under the same umbrella as Sparc’s portfolio, which includes Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand and Nautica.

JCPenney is joining forces with a large conglomerate to form an even bigger powerhouse in the retail space. The department store chain is teaming up with the Sparc Group in an all-equity merger to form Catalyst Brands,

JCPenney announced Thursday the company merged with SPARC Group, to form a larger retail organization called Catalyst Brands.

JCPenney is merging with a retail company with household names to form a new one based in Plano, Texas. The longtime local retailer and Sparc Group announced they have combined to form Catalyst Brands and will cover several brands: Aéropostale,